Rentosertib shows potential to reduce biological age in IPF patients

A Phase-IIa study published in Nature Biotechnology suggests that Rentosertib, a drug candidate developed by Insilico Medicine for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), may influence biological aging markers.

In a study involving 42 patients with an average age of 67, researchers observed that a daily 60mg dose of the drug led to a reduction in biological age by 2.7 to 3.5 years, as measured by six proteomic clocks over four weeks. A lower dose of 30mg twice daily also showed signs of a younger biological age in most measured clocks.

Regarding clinical efficacy, a previous study in Nature Medicine reported that a 60mg single dose increased forced vital capacity (FVC) by 98.4 milliliters, compared to a 20.3 milliliter decrease in the placebo group.

However, researchers noted significant methodological limitations. The findings are based on computational estimates from aging clocks rather than proven deceleration of biological aging. The study group was small, methods are not yet standardized, and the drug's safety in healthy individuals has not been investigated. Additionally, the report lacked data on hard endpoints such as mortality, hospitalizations, or long-term lung function in relation to the aging clock data.